Sun Chaser Cream Ale
Bowen Island Brewing Co. Ltd.

 

 

 

 

355ml can. Yup, probably just a marketing re-imagining of the Irish Cream Ale, but why swim against the tide, eh?

This beer pours a clear, dark bronzed amber colour, with two fingers of puffy, tightly foamy, and subtly creamy off-white head, which leaves a bit of low-lying headland lace around the glass as it quickly abates.

It smells of bready, doughy, and rather yeasty caramel malt, somewhat funky muddled orchard fruit, paint thinner, and a weak earthy, leafy bitterness. The taste is more yeasty caramel malt, a further wan bready sweetness, bland apple and pear mush, and that unshakeable phenolic acridity, one which I find hard to attribute to either alcohol or the aforementioned yeast, but it kind of dominates at times.

The bubbles are pretty big, and brashly frothy, the body a so-so medium weight, and very clammy and pithy in its shameful attempt at smoothness. It finishes off-dry, the bready, yeasty caramel sweetness showing some unsightly legs.

Meh - I recall liking this one's Irish-themed predecessor a whole lot more - this just had too much icky astringencies to make it really all that drinkable. And what the hell is with the word 'Cascadian' in this offering's subtitle? Other than simple geography, they don't deserve to use it.

 

Bowen Island - I don't know if they are trying to break into the market but i'm seeing 6 packs of this stuff for $8, I drank this all summer, I liked it! also drank the IPA and honey brown

 

 

 

This is a dark beer much like a British mild mixed with an amber ale which is true to form for the British Columbia take on a Cream ale ( based on Shaftebury's early Cream Ale).

This is a solid offering that is full bodied , balanced and very drinkable. Considering the low price of Bowen Island this is a good cream ale from BC as you can get. Very food friendly and endowed with a long finish I will buy this again.